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It’s not just the government that’s turned their back on salt manufacturers, it’s also institutions
and people
Leased 10 acres of government land to conduct salt manufacturing. Sabakki, 55, has been
working on salt pans for as long as he can remember.
R. Selvam (50) a weary salt-pan worker sells 110 kilos of harvested salt for Rs 150 while 110
packets of Tata salt – Iodized (1 kg) sell at Rs. 2090 at retail shops. “But before cyclone Gaja hit
Vedaranyam salt pans, we used to get only 100 rupees for the harvested salt,” said Selvam, who
looks after three acres of the salt pans at Marakkanam in Vilippuram district.
The history of the half-open salt packet by the stove in your kitchen belongs to the likes of
Selvam, the weary salt-pan worker. They work from 6 am to 3 pm on most days but don’t strictly
follow this schedule owing to the sweltering heat; various tasks are assigned to various
labourers.
THE ETERNAL PROCESS OF SALT PRODUCTION
Salt worker checking if the pan has been emptied.
The process usually takes about 6 months which can extend to 9 months taking into account
the monsoons. It begins with the construction of mud pans to hold either sea or sub-soil brine.
These mud pans or shallow pools are spread across acres of land, the sight of which is as
beautiful as it is intense. This process of scraping out a shallow pool for the evaporation and
crystallization process takes up the most amounts of time and labour. The brine is transferred
through the pans until it finally starts the crystallization process, after which the salt crystals are
scraped out by workers, individually, using 6-feet-long wooden shovels to create sparkling white
pyramid shaped heaps. A Bharati, the Assistant superintendent of the Government of India Salt
Factory Office at Marakkanam says, “all this work they’re doing is not good enough, this
produces only 94% NaCl.” Ideal human consumption is 96% and industrial grade use would be
98%-99%. In order to achieve that level of purity the brine density should be brought up to 23
degree brine density. The transferring of brine from one pan to another should happen a couple
of more times in order to get 98% purity, which means the work that they’re painfully doing is
just not enough. The government has set guidelines on how to process good quality salt, which
Bharati says, “none of them care about.”
The average 40-degree temperature, coupled with the sun shining directly above the salt pans
with an excuse of a makeshift resting shed, two or three medium sized plastic pot of fresh water
for all those working throughout the entire stretch, is almost jarring to visitors. But that's just
another workspace hiccup for the daily wage labourers of Marakkanam. The scanty resources,
whatever is available to them come from their own homes and pockets.
A single pot of water, which they bring from home, for all the people working in the evening
shift.
According to official documents at the government salt factory office, the central government
has leased out 1092 acres, the state government has leased out 1304 acres and 18 acres of land
are held by private parties with pattas (property deed).
In the 2414 acres of salt pans, there are maybe 10 makeshift rest sheds, that cannot be in any
manner classified as a shed. It’s a fragile structure made of a plastic sheet for a roof which is
being held by two wooden sticks.